United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Oil prices surge after US attack in Middle East
Oil prices have jumped more than 4% amid concerns rising tensions in the Middle East could disrupt supplies after a targeted US attack on the ‘second-most powerful man in Iran’.
Brent crude futures were up by nearly $3 at $69.16 per barrel, the highest since September 17 after the attack early on Friday morning, which killed General Qassem Soleimani.
The US said the ‘strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans’, but there are concerns over when and how Iran will retaliate.
Iran has said it will take ‘vigorous revenge’.
The UK Foreign Office has urged calm, but the BBC’s security expert, Frank Gardner, told Radio 4’s Today programme there are fears of ‘another war in the Middle East’ if tensions escalate in the coming days.
The US carried out the attack after an Iranian-backed militia and other protesters breached the US embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve.
Related News Stories:
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence
Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy
Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Storm Lilian travel chaos as bank holiday flights cancelled